The film teaches us that Nordic humility – like revenge – is a dish best served cold
Director: Hans Petter Moland
Cast: Stellan Skarsgård, Kristofer Hivju, Birgitte Hjort Sørensen
Rating: 15
Running Time: 116 mins
Availability: DVD – Out now
In Order of Disappearance begins as a local canvasser repeatedly accosts Nils (Stellan Skarsgard), in an attempt to get his vote for the Norwegian Centre party who are agrarian centrists. Later on, after seeing the slick, formally dressed gangsters Nils is up against, the canvasser unknowingly raises concerns that he hopes Nils won’t vote for the UKIP-esque Progressive party. Although these scenes are brief, they encapsulate the film’s political anxiety in a humorous way.
Kim Fupz Aakeson’s story starts with a tragedy, which leads Nils to forge a violent path. He exacts revenge on the gangsters who have turned his world upside-down, only for said gangsters to misidentify their antagonist as the son of a Serbian hood, embroiling an equally ruthless outfit of criminals in a pressure cooker of embittered feuding. Beneath the surface of what appears – at first sight – to be a formulaic crime-comedy caper lies a strong, reactionary subtext regarding the integrity of Nordic sovereignty.
Nils, a Swedish immigrant, blends into Norway’s landscape. His job is repetitive and industrious – ploughing the deepest snowfall areas of rural Norway – but he’s also integral, manning one mechanical innovation of many that makes life in Scandinavia viable. The film’s opening scenes establish the tie man has to the precarious natural world, with sweeping, breathtaking shots of the nearby city, airport, and trajectory of the snowplough, as it busily burrows lines of passage.
Nils’ response to proceedings is an allegorical attack on perceived criminality; both homegrown (the capitalist impulse); and exogamous (the arbitrary absorption of human capital), endangering Nordic culture. Greven (Pal Sverre Hagen) and his cronies represent home grown, upper-echelon excess. Purposefully indistinguishable from investment bankers, they amass sterile homes and unhappy marriages, with accumulation becoming an end not a means, undoing communality and demonstrating indifference to ethnic solidarity.
With the open borders of a market-orientated economy, free trade precludes the attenuation of homogeneity from outside. The Serbian faction represent the ‘outside’ turning inward. Whereas the Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish characters are largely interchangeable, the Serbians stand out. They often remark on the behaviour of Scandinavians, highlighting the cultural asymmetry to humorous effect. In one scene a woman picks up a dog turd and two onlooking Serbian gangsters are entirely bemused to why she would do such a thing.
Progeny is the political currency of the future, and it is no surprise that youngsters act as the catalyst for the plot’s descent into total war. The insistence on using the next generation as a bargaining chip perfectly ties up with what is at stake in a film which tussles with masculinity and the cultural incompatibility that excites patriarchal violence. This is further emphasised by a quirky technique of showing the name and religion of people who are killed in the film on a black screen – reminds us of the differences threatening the whole.
The film’s acting is commendable, with Skarsgard more at home than in his English-speaking performances. Scripting is subtle and avoids grand standing and choreography; typical of Scandinavian cinema at its best. Technically the film shines too. Its music, sound mixing, and visuals perfectly capture the mood. The cinematography is particularly striking, juxtaposing the outposts and road that leads to the city in a post-apocalyptic style.
In Order of Disappearance manages to engage, entertain, and probe the prevailing issues of our time in a calm and adroit manner. It is yet another example of the strength of Scandinavian cinema, mixing genres deftly, while never feeling tonally uneven or smugly self-referential. It teaches us that Nordic humility – like revenge – is a dish best served cold.
Verdict
IN ORDER OF DISAPPEARANCE is out now on DVD.
